Billboard or poster panel



llg. 13, 1940. V| P KElTH 2,2-,697

BILLBOARD 0R POSTER PANEL Filed Aug. 14, 1959 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 13, 1940. L. P. am 2,211,697

BILLBOARD OR POSTER PANEL Filed Aug. 14,1939 5 sheets-sheet 2 Allg. 13 1940- L. P. KEITH 2921!.697

BILLBOARD OR POSTER PANEL Filed Aug. 14, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 13, 1940 STATES UNITE TENT BILLBARD R PSTER PANEL Laurence I. Keith, Chicago, Ill.,

assigner to Timber Engineering Go., Washington, D. C., a corporation of Delaware Application August-1li,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to prefabricated billboards or poster panels and has for its primary object vthe construction of a billboard which may be assembled from standard length material at some central point and shipped in folded or knock down condition to the desired place of erection.

By my improved construction I provide a billboard which can be cheaply manufactured,

l0 easily erected on any terrain, and which eliminates construction, erection and wind resistance defects common to the conventional forms of prefabricated billboards now in use.

Referring to the accompanyingdrawings. Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved billboard;

Figure 2 is a top plan view, partly broken away on line 2,-2 of Figure 1, of one back brace assembly;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side View of a form of back brace connection;

Figure 4 is a rear View of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a rear View of a portion of the billboard;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the frame folded for shipping;

Figure 7 is an enlarged side .View of a second form of back brace connection;

Figure 8 is a rear view of Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a detail, in perspective, of a means for attaching the stringers to the uprights;

Figure 10 shows means for fastening the back brace to aground anchoring means;

Figure 1l is a rear View of Figure Il);

Figure 12 is a side elevation of a further form of back brace fastening means, and

Figure 13 is a rear view of Figure. 12.

Any suitable number of supporting posts or uprights I2 is provided according to the width of go the panel face desired. These uprights are connected by horizontal stringers I3 and further connected horizontally by the usual cornice M and base rail I5. A poster panel, not sho-wn, is secured to the horizontal members l3-I5. As a preferred means of fastening the stringers I3 to the uprights I2 I utilize the construction shown in Figure 9. In conventional construction at the present time it is common to spike the stringers I3 to the uprights I2 by large nails passing through 50 the stringers into the narrow faces IS of the uprights I2. With wind pressure from the rear of the billboard when erected, these nails do not have the necessary Wind resistance and may pull out. Neither vdoes this nailed construction per- 554 mit of complete salvage demountability since 1939, Serial No. 290,023

(Cl. l10--l25) withdrawal of the nails is accompanied by destruction or marring of the narrow faces IS of the uprights I2.

'I'o overcome these disadvantages of conventional construction I secure, on either side of the upright I2, strips I'I-I'I so that the bottom edges of these strips are in position to lie flush with the topedges of the Stringer. On the face I6 is secured a block I3 so that its top i9 is in position to receive the bottom face 23 of Stringer I3. vOn the rear face of the upright a second block 2| is secured in parallelism with block I8. The strips I'l and the blocks IB and 2| are intended to be carried by the uprights I2 permanently from assembly.

A plate 22, of the same vertical dimesion as Stringer I3 lits removably between strips I'I and block 2| and has bolt holes, not shown, for the reception of bolts 23-2li passing through Stringer I3 on either side of upright I2. By tightening of these bolts the stringer is brought flush to the face I6. This construction resists rear wind pressure at the same rate of resistance as for front Wind pressure and makes for complete demountability without marring lumber by nail Withdrawal. f

A plurality of back braces 25 are provided and carry the usual horizontal braces 26 and diagonal braces 2l. In conventional construction as now practiced the inner ends of all three braces 25-26 and 2l are secured to one of the wide faces or sides of the uprights I2. Because of this all three of the braces lie in the same vertical plane and in order to fasten the rear ends 2B and 29 of the braces 26 and 2 to the back brace 25, in the usual construction, the back brace must be bowed out of the vertical plane of its alignmentv with the wide face of upright I2. rihis bowing is an obvious disadvantage and I have so connected the back braces to the uprights in my construction as to overcome such disadvantage. As is unsual I connect the forward ends SI1-3l of braces 26-21 to a wide face of uprights I2. Ihe forward or upper end of back brace 25 however is disposed to lies against the rear narrovv face 32 of upright. I2 and is cut with a beveled face 33 for thus purpose. Thus the side of the back brace is in plane with a wide face of the upright I2 as shown in Figures 4 5 and 8. Since the usual method of securing the back braces to the uprights cannot be used in my construction the following forms of removable attachment are provided.

Referring now to- Figures 3 and 4 the back brace fastening means comprises an angle iron 34 having a strengthening flange 35 and provided with at least three bolt holes for the reception of bolts 36-31-38. The uprights I2 are bored to receive bolts 35 and the back brace 25 similarly bored to receive bolts 31 and 38. In the wide face of the uprights l2 adjacent the iron 34 is set a anged shear plate 39 of the type shown in J. E. Myer Patent 2,117,567, of May 17, 1938 and the bolt 36 passes through angle iron 34, plate 39, and upright l2 to the other side thereof being removably held in place by a nut 4D. Bolt 3l' secures the angle iron 34 to the back brace and carries a nut 4|. Bolt 38 also secures iron 34 to the back brace which carries a langed shear plate 42 of the same construction as plate 39 and the assembly is completed by a nut 43.

An ordinary steel strap suitably perforated can be substituted in the above construction for the angle iron 34.

In the construction shown in Figures 7 and 8 a wood block 44 replaces the angle iron the bolt arrangement 35-31 and 58 remaining the same. Since both the block 44 and back brace are wood, split ring connectors 45 and l5 of the type shown in J. E. Myer Patent 2.150,141 of March 7, 1939 are used, the block, upright and back brace having been previously dapped for the purpose.

The brace construction shown in Figures 12 and 13 utilizes a form of timber connector il shown in copending application of J. E. Myer, Serial No. 297,617, led Oct. 2, 1939. The uprights and back brace are bored as before described and the bolt assembly is the same. The upright and back brace are both dapped on their aligned faces as in Figure 8. These daps are engaged by the semicircular down turned anges 48 and 49 of the connector 4I when the bolt nuts are tightened.

From an inspection of Figure 5 it will be seen that the back brace 25 is straight, without bow or eccentricity and that the iron 34, the block 44 or the connector 4l whichever is used lies in the same vertical plane as the braces 26 and 27 as further shown in Figure 2.

Figure 6 shows the billboard assembled for shipping in folded condition. The bolts 36 and 38 have been loosened to a point where the angle iron 34 or whichever connecting means is used, can assume the position shown, the bolt 3l being left out of place. Horizontal brace 25 is disconnected from back brace 25 and is allowed to hang loosely from its connection on upright l2. The diagonal brace 21' is disconnected from up" right l2 and allowed to hang loosely from its connection with back brace 2J. For this purpose the bolts at the points 28 and 3l are removed.

When it is desired to erect the billboard the uprights l2 may be either set directly in the ground or connected to some form of earth anchor. The top of the billboard is then leveled for horizontal accuracy, the back brace 25 is eX- tended to the position shown in Figure 1 bolt 3l is inserted in its proper place. Connections 28, 29, and 3l are made tight after which it becomes necessary to adjust the face of the billboard to a true vertical position. For this purpose the back brace 25 is connected, through means hereinafter described, to an auger earth anchor of the type shown in Tyson Patent 1,745,517, February 4, 1930 and designated as a whole by numeral 55.

Such an anchor consists of an upper extension 5l which is rotatable about an axis longitudinal of the anchor through swivel means which permit the anchor member to be rotated so that its auger portion will enter into or retract from the ground. In order to strengthen the connection between the member 5l and the back brace 25 I use a special connecting plate which is fully described in and covered by the copending application of J. E. Myer, Serial No. 297.617, above referred to and which consists of a plate 52 having downturned longitudinal flanges 53 and 54 adapted to engage the top and bottom faces of the back brace 25.

The purpose of these iianges is to enhance the rigidity of connection and they may be dispensed with under certain conditions leaving the plate 52, a flat plate lying flush against the wide surface of back brace 25. This plate and the extension 5l are suitably apertured for the reception of bolts 55 and 5B passing through the eX- tension, the plate and holes previously bored in the back brace 25, said bolts being held by nuts 51, 58. At its point of engagement with the wooden back brace 25 the plate 52 is provided with struck out semi-circular portions 59-69 which engage daps previously formed in the face of back brace 25. These members 59 and G0 perform the function of a ring timber connector similar to the connectors 45 and 4G of Figure 8 and when the nuts 51 and 58 are tightened the connection presents resistance to all stresses cn- I countered by the billboard in actual use.

In order to secure the true vertical position it is only necessary to adjust the rotatable portion of the anchor 55, In this way the necessity for a plurality of adjustment apertures usu- I' ally found at the rear end of the back brace is done away with with consequent strengthening of the back brace connection and complete salvage on demountability thereof. It is obvious that if the uprights l2 are supported by an anchoiol this type that the same connecting means is utilized therein and here again the necessity for a plurality of adjustment apertures is obviated.

In case it is desired to erect the billboard on ground rising from front to back it is necessary to shorten the back brace 25 by cutting off a portion of the lower end. Under these conditions bolt holes and daps have to be rebored in the iield at the point of erection.

I claim:

1. In a billboard, in combination: a wooden frame formed of structural members of rectangular cross section and comprising poster panel supporting uprights, back braces, each having an end sruface angularly disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of said brace, abutting the rear surfaces of said uprights with at least one face each of each upright and brace in a common plane, a horizontal brace and a diagonal brace bolted at their respective ends against said faces of said uprights and back braces; connector members overlapping the said faces of said uprights and back braces and secured to said uprights by one bolt each and to said braces by a plurality of bolts each; whereby the clamping of said horizontal and diagonal braces to the nrst named back brace causes no warping of the latter from its normal rectilinear condition and whereby, upon removal of all but one of said plurality of bolts, and the bolts from one end of each of said second named braces said overlapping connector members serve as hinges, and permit compact folding of the assembly.

2. In a billboard, in combination: rectangular, wooden poster panel supporting uprights; braces for each of said uprights; a Stringer for additionally supporting said poster panel and means for removably securing said Stringer to said uprights, comprising a Set of blocks on each upright projecting from the front surfaces thereof in spaced relation to receive the Stringer therebetween at the front surface, and bolts passing through said Stringer at each side of each upright and through clamp blocks engaging the rear surfaces of the uprights.

3. In a billboard, in combination: rectangular Wooden poster panel supporting uprights, braces for each of said uprights, a Stringer for additionally supporting said poster panel and means for removably securing said Stringer to said uprights, comprising means on each upright projecting therefrom in vertically spaced relation tc engage said Stringer and bolts passing through said Stringer at each side of each upright and through clamp blocks engaging the rear surfaces of the uprights.

LAURENCE P. KEITH. 

